"Last Friday, recently confirmed U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires issued a memorandum to all administrative patent judges (APJs) at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) informing the Board that Director Squires will personally decide whether to institute inter partes review (IPR) or post-grant review (PGR) validity trials. According to an open letter accompanying the memorandum, Director Squires aims to address perceptions that the PTAB is incentivized to institute America Invents Act (AIA) trials,"
"Following consultation with at least three PTAB APJs, Director Squires will issue institution decisions in a summary notice. In important cases, the Director might address novel legal or factual issues in the institution decision or might refer institution decisions to APJs for detailed treatment of issues raised in a petition. The memo includes no indication of the timeframe for institution decisions under the new framework."
Director John Squires will personally decide whether to institute inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR) trials, restoring the Director's statutory role over institution determinations. Institution decisions will follow the interim PTAB workload management workflow established in March and will involve consultation with at least three administrative patent judges (APJs) before issuance in a summary notice. In significant cases the Director may address novel legal or factual issues or refer matters to APJs for detailed treatment. The change aims to counter perceptions that the PTAB is incentivized to institute AIA trials and no timeframe for decisions was provided.
Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law
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